America’s Top Auction Houses: Pifer’s Auction & Realty

“Land is not only a great place to store wealth. It is yesterday’s small cap stock without the risk.” — Kevin Pifer. Pifer’s Auction & Realty is a full-service auction and real estate firm headed by Kevin Pifer, former North…

“Land is not only a great place to store wealth. It is yesterday’s small cap stock without the risk.” — Kevin Pifer.Pifer’s Auction & Realty is a full-service auction and real estate firm headed by Kevin Pifer, former North Dakota Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture. “Pifer’s has sold nearly 350,000 acres since its inception in 2001,” says Pifer. Pifer’s also manages a land investment fund, Farm USA Trust, which focuses on buying and managing corn and soybean land in the upper Midwest.

Why: The firm offers auctions, traditional real estate brokering, and land management. “In addition to land sales, Pifer’s manages approximately 30,000 acres of land in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin,” notes Pifer.

Wow: Sales were up 150% over last year. “We sold $20.4 million of land through 85 transactions during the last quarter of 2010. On October 26, 2010, Pifer’s conducted seven auctions in southwestern North Dakota for seven different sellers, representing 2,800 acres of crop land, pasture land, and hunting land,” says Pifer.